Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree...

Oh, how I love this time of the year!

There's something so special and indescribable about the holiday season. It's about family, friends, giving, kindness, and celebration for many of the religions around the world. Granted, I try to keep those things as my priority throughout the year and not just the holiday season, but there's just something a little different this time of year; something I just can't put into words.

One of my most favorite traditions that go along with Christmas is the tree. It's one of those things I just love because it reminds me of many good memories as a kid and something I looked forward to every year. I'm as enthusiastic about it now as I was then! So tonight, I thought I'd share with all of you our beautiful tree this year...

Oh, I apologize in advance for the quality of some photos. I don't like to use my flash a lot, so some pictures may not be as sharp as normal.

Here she is in all her glory! Since I was a little kid, my family always had a real tree. My dad was never big on the fake trees -- of course, there's nothing wrong with a fake tree (as I know a lot of people who have one). For me personally though, I've just always loved having a real tree. I think probably because it does bring back such fond Christmas memories from childhood. I also just love the smell of a fresh tree, even the sap that goes along with it. The first couple of years that Adam and I lived in an apartment, I didn't think we were allowed to have a real tree so I went with the fake one. Last year though, when I realized we didn't have to have a fake tree, I was on a mission to get a real one! Fortunately, Adam was onboard, so off we went to Home Depot, now our favorite one-stop Christmas tree store. They have so many wonderful trees! I still get so excited about it all. I always try to find one similar to what we had when I was growing up -- my dad was always a fan of the Charlie Brown-like trees, the ones that were kind of scrawny and not as full. That's a little harder to find these days, but I do still get the same type of tree each year (now I know you are starting to probably think, "wow, who knew someone could spend so much time talking about a tree").Oh, when I'm passionate though, I can go on and on...haha.

Ok, I'm going off topic. Now, a lot of the trees I see now are so beautifully decorated with matching ornaments, beautiful tinsel, very Martha Stewart (Adam doesn't have real strong opinions about the tree so he kind of lets me do my thing). I'm a fan of all kinds of Christmas trees, but for me, I'm very old school on my decorating. I've tried to take on the same traditions that we had growing up -- I must admit I can't wait to carry on this tradition one day when I have a family. I looove the big, old-fashioned Christmas bulbs -- they are similar to the ones my dad and Adam's mom say they had when growing up. They also always remind me of the movie, A Christmas Story, because that tree had the same kind of lights on it. I am a huge fan of colored lights so I make sure to buy plenty...haha. Anyhow, yes, I wrap those lights around the tree myself (granted, sometimes I end up doing it a couple of times before I get it right)! I also love the garland and have to have that on there. Now, the ornaments -- that is what makes the tree special. The ornaments have meaning. The regular bulb ornaments we got because it was just tradition - I've never had a Christmas tree without bulb ornaments and neither has Adam. The candy canes, another tradition. Then we have the more personal ornaments; Over the years, I've gotten these from friends/family that I've always kept and each year when I put them on my tree, I think of the person who was kind enough to give me the ornament or a memory that I have associated with it.

I thought I'd go ahead and share a few:

As you all know, I'm a BIG fan of pandas. Last year, my friend, Lindsey, gave me, Po, the Kung Fu panda ornament.  I just love it and to be honest, when Christmas season is over, I don't actually put him away with the other decorations. Instead I move him from the tree to the bookshelf where we put a lot of our other trinkets and figurines. Po always looks good hangin' on the tree though.

This was given to me from my good high school, cross country friend and her mom. It's one of my favorite ornaments because it brings back so many good memories of my cross country days in high school and of the time I spent with their family. They were always so kind to me and were always so encouraging, particularly when I may not have been running as well as I wanted. I just love the message too -- "Believe." It's simple and yet so significant. One of my favorite quotes from my cross country days was "God gave me the ability. The rest is up to me. Believe, Believe, Believe." That's one quote that I've carried with me through the years. Sometimes I know I lose sight of it, but I try to remind myself of it as I continue to build more confidence. I'm so fond of the family that gave me this ornament and as you can tell by the date on there, 10 years later (I still can't believe it) I still have it with me and on my Christmas tree every year.

This ornament here brings me back to my first Christmas in Columbus. My wonderful cousin, Joli, came down one weekend so we could do some Christmas shopping and one of the stores where we shopped, had a bunch of these cute teddy bear ornaments. I remember we bought quite a few of them to give at Christmas and then we both got one (actually a few) for ourselves, too. I'll admit that I had a hard time adjusting to things in Columbus for a long time -- it was hard to not see my family often. However, when I look back at my time there, I do miss it and the memories there. I sometimes wish that I would have given it more of a chance, but at the same time, I know that I can't look back and always second guess. In the end, things have worked out probably the way they should have. That weekend with my cousin though, was such a fun time and I love that I have this teddy bear to remind me of that weekend.

This little snowman here is also tied to our time in Columbus. During our first year there, Adam and I weren't able to go home for Thanksgiving so instead my mom and his mom flew out for the weekend before to have a mini Thanksgiving with us. It was a lot of fun and of course my mom being my mom, she had to bring something -- which were these little snowman ornaments. I have to say, they are pretty cute little guys, aren't they? That was also a really fun weekend - it was the first time that both Adam's mom and my mom traveled together and they had a great time, as did we. These little snowmen will always remind me of that visit.

This pretty pine cone ornament is from my cousin, Joli. The year after I left Ohio, I spent Christmas at my Grandma's and Joli wasn't able to be there so she sent Christmas ornaments for everyone.  Isn't it pretty?! I just had to show this one because I love it.

Ok, hang in there - I'm getting to the end now. This beautiful star ornament came from another high school cross country friend. I'll admit I don't know if I remember exactly when she gave it to me - I think maybe my senior year - but it's so sparkly and pretty. It also shares the honor of tree topper with one other new ornament that was added this year (next picture). Though my friend and I lost touch over the last few years, this past year I was able to get back in contact with her because of Facebook. It's funny too because the other day she and I were just talking about this star ornament and one that I gave her. I still can't believe that my senior year of high school was 10 years ago...where does the time go?? I'm guessing that's a question I will ask many more times throughout life.

Remember that other tree topper I mentioned above? Here it is! I just ordered this one a couple of weeks ago and was so excited when it came in. It just didn't seem right that the Kramer/Hogan household didn't have some sort of tribute to their alma matar and home state :o)

This guy I had to include because it's from the set of Rudolph ornaments we bought last year, I think? Adam is a huge fan of the Rudolph characters so these are his to put up every year :o)

Christmas Vay-caaation, Christmas Vay-caation. It's a little hard to see here, but from my first two words, I think you might figure out what it is -- a Griswold Christmas ornament! Last year, my cousin and his girlfriend bought Christmas Vacation (since it's almost impossible to rent this time of year) for all of us to watch and this ornament came with the DVD. I usually have to watch that movie at least once during Christmas season (along with While You Were Sleeping, Elf, and White Christmas) I just had to include it on here because almost everyone knows that movie. I think it's safe to say it's a classic.

Well, I could probably go on more, but I don't want to lose my readers! Seriously though, all of these decorations mean a lot to me. And though I may not be in touch with some of the people as much anymore, I hope that they at least know I do think of them still and every time I put the ornament they gave me on the tree.

I'm so grateful for the wonderful people who are in my life and for those of you who follow along on here, I hope you know that. My family and my friends are my life and mean the world to me. I know I am not without my flaws, but I so appreciate that my real friends and family accept me as I am (though I do strive to continue growing and work on my weaknesses).

To all of you, I hope you have a VERY MERRY Christmas and a great start to the New Year!

I am going to leave you with one just a couple more pictures tonight, just because I thought it was cute.

Merry Christmas again from all of us!

love, julie, adam, baloo, truman, and lucy

As I was taking photos for this post, Truman came walking over and looked like he was checking out all the presents.




Just a few minutes later, he moved from snooping on presents to kickin' it on the TV stand near the tree (there's a reason why we call him 'cool kid'. He just looked too cute that I had to put him on here :o). Mr. Truman-o just loves the Christmas tree (as does Baloo -- we can't keep him away from that water).

Congratulations in Order!

Some exciting news this past weekend.  I know it's been awhile since I've posted and tonight I thought the best way for me to come back was to share some WONDERFUL news with all of you.


What is it you may wonder?  I know some of you have ideas in your mind...


Well, on Saturday night, my brother, Dom, called to tell me that he and his girlfriend, Anne, were engaged!  Yay!  He popped the question during a weekend trip to Minneapolis.

As most of you know from my previous post, I am quite fond of Anne, as is my entire family.  She's always so incredibly sweet and polite, but she also has one bad a. fun side, too :o).  I'm so very excited for the both of them.  They just complement each other so well.  They are also still often mistaken for being in their early teens (sorry, Dom and Anne, I couldn't not throw that in there).


I'm so happy that my little brother has found someone with whom he wants to share his life. I have to admit too, that Anne is a pretty luck duck herself :o).


Congratulations, Dom and Anne!!  I dedicate tonight's post to you both!

Stay Tuned...

Eh hem, well, it's kind of been awhile I realize...

So sorry about that. Hmm, but then I don't know if anyone really checks up on this thing. It's been kind of a hectic few weeks with some rough spots. Whenever that kind of thing happens, I kind of just close up and don't feel much like sharing anything.

I am happy to say though that things seem to be looking back up and I'm also starting to feel like my normal self again, although sometimes I'm not quite sure I know what that is...Anyhow, I've been kind of a slacker, but I'm resolving to change that! So look out, blogging world - I am back!

Hope everyone has been well in the last month (I just realized it's been OVER month since I wrote anything, yikes). I also hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving.


Happy Holidays!!!

Happy Birthday, Mom!!

That's right, today my mom turns....

....just kidding!

I know better than to share such information :o)

For a lot of you who know my mom, she's not ever really crazy about having her picture taken so I have decided that because today is her birthday, I will leave off her picture. Well, I might include a family picture, but I will at least leave off a solo pic!

In honor of my mom's big day, I thought I'd share something with all of you. It is something I wrote my senior year of high school (which was almost 10 years ago, I can't believe it, but alas, I diverge). I took a college composition class that year which involved a lot of writing, something that used to drive me crazy. Anyway, one of the essays that I wrote was about my mother and her life. As most of you know, my mom came to the US during the 70's at a time when her country had fallen to Communism and was still at war with its neighbors. She's been through a lot, more than I could ever imagine, to get to where she is today.

My mom and I haven't always seen things the same, but it's funny how much of her I start to see in myself as I get older. I consider myself lucky to share some of her traits because I think she's an incredible woman who I admire for her strength, determination, and character (just to name a few).

Those of you who know me I'm sure already know how attached I am to my family; I'm so grateful to have the family that I do. We definitely butt heads at times and just like every other family, we aren't without our flaws. However, that's what makes our family our family, if that makes sense. I'm incredibly fortunate to have such support in my life. If I were to be completely honest, they have kept me from crumbling during some of my lowest of low times.

I didn't get to spend my mom's birthday with her, but I hope she had a wonderful day. Happy Birthday, Mom from all of us! We all love you very much!

So with that, here goes...

Hope all of you had a good weekend!

Realization of a True Legacy

When I think of my mother's life, as most people probably would, I think of her life today. I see her with our family and the busy schedule she leads owning her own alteration shop. Since my perspective has been taken from what I have actually known about my mother over the past seventeen years I have existed, I tend to overlook my mother's past and the legacy she has created. I have just begun to see that through the examples of her struggles and her successes she will leave behind a legacy with the powerful message that anything is possible. I have always heard remnants of my mother's history and her journey to this country, but I never realized until recently how her life has drastically changed from the time she arrived in the United States to the present.

At the age of eighteen, my mother Tuyet had her entire life disrupted and forever changed. Along with my two uncles, aunt, and cousin, the five left their home country, Vietnam, and their family during the middle of the night in 1978 taking nothing with them except each other. After four days of traveling on a small fishing boat carrying fifty-four total passengers, the food and water supply had been used up. Fortunately, one day later the boat reached an American oil platform out in the China Sea. From here, Tuyet and her family transferred to another boat destined for a refugee camp in Malaysia. They stayed at this refugee camp for six months until an immigration organization sponsored the five to come to Kansas City. At an age just old enough to be considered an adult, Tuyet already had to make a difficult adjustment, not living in the familiar environment with her family and the home she knew so well. Now she would have to prepare herself for a future in which she did not know what lay ahead.

On Christmas Eve of 1978, my mother and her four relatives arrived in Los Angeles, California. After a night of sleep in the airport due to a flight delay, they all boarded another plane and headed to Kansas City where the temperatures lingered from a frigid fifteen to twenty degrees Fahrenheit. Since my mother's family had come from a country with a tropical climate, they were not prepared for the harsh, winter weather the Midwest had to offer. The five stepped off the plane wearing traditional Malaysian thong sandals and lightweight polyester short-sleeve shirts and pants. At the airport, the five immigrants learned that arrangements had been made for them to spend the night in a hotel, something they had never done before. Not knowing what awaited them the next day, they spent the first night in their new home, the United States.

The new life began as their sponsor put the five immigrants in an apartment located in northeast Kansas City, where many other refugees lived. In order to stay off welfare and food stamps, my family received support money from their sponsor for six months. During this time, they were expected to learn English and find a job. Within a couple of weeks, my aunt found work at a woman's clothing company and after their six months ended, my mother's family moved to public housing. Here they settled in among many other Vietnamese families. Though Tuyet's family lived in an undesirable neighborhood, they felt more comfortable surrounded by the familiarity of a Vietnamese community. My mom then began to attend CETA school, a job-training program for low-income individuals funded by the city of Kansas City, Missouri. My mother attended English classes in the morning and went to Don Bosco, a local community center, for job training in the afternoon. This continued for six months and once CETA ended, she began searching for a job while still attending ESL (English as a Second Language) classes.

As time passed, my mother found her first job at a local cap company. While earning the minimum wage of $2.90 an hour, she learned to operate a sewing machine. At the same time, she also began to take sewing lessons from her sister. Eventually, my mother progressed and landed a job at Gretchen's, a sewing company for business women's clothes, and there she worked with her sister. Over the next six years, Tuyet became an expert in the sewing business. Not only had she begun to build a career, but also during this time my mother and father were married and one year later I became their first born child. Our first home consisted of a small one-bedroom apartment located on the outskirts of downtown Kansas City in an area known as the “Northend” within walking distance from public housing. After a couple of years, my mother, father, and I left our small living quarters and moved to Liberty, a rural suburb where my parents bought their first house. Not too long after, my mother gave birth to my brother.

Thirteen years had passed since my mother had first arrived in this country with nothing and throughout these years she created a new life. From here, the story also became more familiar to me. After my mother decided to leave the job she held for six years, she found an opening at an upper-class clothing company. Next, she moved on to JP Todd's, a men's clothing store, where she learned to alter and tailor men's clothes. After a year passed at JP Todd's, Tuyet decided she wanted to be her own boss and open an alteration shop of her own. My mother came to this country with no possessions, but the clothes she wore. She did not know any English at the time yet now she had become fluent enough to consider opening her own business. Nine years have passed since she opened J.D.'s Alterations, named after her two children, Julie and Dominic. The success she has achieved from her first jobs to her current shop demonstrates how her work ethic has helped her to achieve such remarkable accomplishments.

When I look at my mother's life now, I see our family and I think of her small business. After talking to my mother though, I realize how drastically her life has changed over the last twenty-one years. When I hear the story of my mother and her family arriving in this country knowing not one person and beginning an entirely new life, I am left amazed. I know that someday I will be able to tell my own children about the woman I am lucky enough to call my mother. I look forward to telling my children of the sacrifices my mother made to give herself and her family a better life. I will also be able to tell about the great success she has achieved due to her industry, ingenuity, and perseverance. In addition to these exceptional qualities, she has done more. Because of her determination and character, she leaves me a message to share with our family's future generations. Anything is possible. At first I only looked at my mother's life in the present, but after hearing of her history and of her accomplishments, I am not only grateful that she is my mother, but also someone I can admire. I will be able to tell my own children about a true legacy.

M-I-Z...

(altogether now...) Z-O-U.

This past weekend Adam and I headed back up to Oklahoma to spend time with my cousin and for all of us to attend the OSU/Mizzou game in Stillwater on Saturday night. As most of you know, the outcome of the game wasn't in our favor, but all in all, it was still a fun trip. It was also a big weekend for Mr. Truman-o. Trumes just loves to go on car rides (sometimes you wonder if he was a dog in another life) so we decided we would take him with us. We decided to leave Lucy Bear and Baloo at home this time around so they didn't have to deal with any stress (I think the two appreciated a low key weekend at home). Plus, we knew they were in good hands as my cousin and his girlfriend (who is also my best Dallas amigo) were kind enough to apartment sit for us. So with that, the three of us (Adam, me, and Truman) hit the road! Here are some pics from the weekend...

Those last two pictures pretty much tell you that Truman is all about the car rides. He likes to ride co-pilot (on the console between the driver's and passenger's seat). For those of you who may be questioning my future parenting skills, I promise you that I do keep a close eye on him so that he doesn't distract the driver or hurt himself. I just had to throw that disclaimer in there :o)

Have a wonderful evening, everyone.

Hello Hello...

Hello my family and friends,

I know I haven't done a good job on the posts lately, but I promise I haven't abandoned the blog. I will be back this week (hopefully tomorrow).

I hope all of you have been well over the last few weeks!

Pictures

Not the most original of a title I admit, but I'm a bit tired...

So I spent a lot of this weekend working on pictures that I had taken over the past few months and I thought I would share a few that I really liked.

Speaking of photos, tomorrow is going to be a big day for me. I plan to join a photography club down here and also attend my first meeting tomorrow night (don't worry though, I will be taping my show to watch later =P). I'm a little nervous, but at the same time I'm looking forward to it. It's never been very easy for me to be in situations where I don't know anyone, but I keep reminding myself that this will be good for me. I'll let all of you know how it goes.

For now though, I hope you enjoy some of the pictures I've taken. Oh, and I hope all of you have had a good weekend!

Meet my brother's girlfriend, Miss Anne Thorn (the first). She and Dom have been dating since high school. She's a wonderful person and good for my brother, if I do say so myself. I took this picture of her while we were all in Minneapolis this summer. I like it b/c she just looks content and in her own thoughts.

I took this picture of my dad during the same weekend trip in Minneapolis, while we were out to eat. I bet a lot of you can relate when I say it's not always the easiest to take pictures of your parents. They never seem to want to get a picture (well, they want a picture, but they never want to be in the picture...haha). I just really like this picture of my dad b/c it reminds me of the good time we all had together that weekend.

One more from the weekend in Minneapolis for those of you who may not have seen a picture of the L-town Hogans altogether in awhile. This was taken on the campus of Dom's alma mater, University of Minnesota. You know, it's interesting. Finding this picture made me realize how infrequently we get a picture with all four of us. I'll have to work on that one (but it goes back to that thing about parents not wanting to be in pictures. Many of you can relate, yes?). Oh, credit goes to Anne Thorn for taking this picture - thanks Anne!

Ah, this one I took on one of the beautiful beaches along the Cape Cod coastline (I can't remember the name of the beach though). Adam and I went out east back in May to visit his youngest brother, Nick and his wonderful girlfriend, Laura. We spent one day driving up the Cape Cod coast and taking in all the beautiful scenery. As you can probably tell from the picture below, it was gorgeous that day.

Taken on the same beach as the picture above. It's one of my favorites - simple as that.

Speaking of Nick and Laura, here they are! Before dropping us off at the airport on our last day, the four of us spent the day in Boston. On the way to Beantown we decided to make a stop at one of the most historically significant cities in our country -- Plymouth! This picture was taken near Plymouth rock. A great picture of a great couple.

You know I couldn't not add in some pet pictures...haha. I love this picture of Truman and Baloo. I can't remember the situation, but I know when I took this there was something that caught both their attention. You can notice that Baloo looks on high alert, almost paranoid and Truman is more relaxed. That's definitely how it usually works when they are presented with something new or out of the norm (like company or another pet over).

This is Miss Bear at her happiest, running. She just loves to run. There's a park across the street from our apartment and I will take her over there and let her off the leash. She stays by my side, but then if I take off running, she will come running after me. If she goes off in another direction and I call her name, then this is what she does -- comes running to me with her tongue hanging out and all. She's very aerodynamic and sweet as sweet can be.

This beautiful girl is Julian, one of Luke and Kaela's precious darlings (Luke's words). Last weekend while Julian's mama and daddy were out of town, she stayed with us. This was taken the same day and at the same park as the picture above with Lucy. Julian wasn't as much about the running that day (it was pretty warm), but she sure was happy just to be outside. She's a crazy girl, but also incredibly sweet. She gives you this look that I can't quite explain, but when she does, you can't help, but smile.


This is another one of my favorites. It's of the second Mr. and Mrs. Kramer just as they turned to walk down the aisle officially as husband and wife. I just love the expressions on their faces. When I saw it, it made me wonder if it's an expression a lot of just married couples share -- one of excitement, relief (seeing everything go off without a hitch after months of planning), and pride (I think Zac looks pretty proud to be standing next to his wife). Another picture of a great couple.

Ok, this last picture I just had to post for my own ego...haha. I was so proud last week b/c it was the first time I made homemade apple pie (crust and all from scratch!). I wasn't so sure if I could pull it off - especially the crust bit. Anyhow, I was so excited at how it turned out that I thought, eh, I gotta show it to someone aside from the two of us who saw this baby in real life =P

That's all I have for tonight. Wishing all of you a good week ahead! I can't lie, I never look forward to Mondays, but I'll try to remain positive if you promise to do so, too. Deal? :o)

Until next time...

Adieu and Bonne nuit!